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Poultry appreciation is always one of the cornerstones of the country show. Eggs are judged on their size, colour and the yellowness of the yolk. There are numerous competition categories for different breeds and even a prize for the ‘prettiest hen.’ Breeding chickens is an extremely popular activity these days. My theory is that many folk still secretly watch old episodes of The Good Life on UK Gold on cable, and yearn for a few of their own charming chickens chucking round their back garden. Poultry are precious.
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| Takeit Orloff |
Other than the poultry competitions there are lots of activities at the show. These include the giant sack race where four people at once are in one sack. They then have to try and hop, in harmony, in order to get anywhere. This renders the race a lot more amusing than that boring ordinary type of sack race we are familiar with from our school sports days.
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| Sackless! |
The ‘show your strength hammer’ meanwhile seemed to be mainly of interest to small children. I see no Burt Lancaster lookalikes rolling up with their muscles rippling, a la The Greatest Show On Earth. Much to my disappointment.
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| Mine is the prettiest hen! |
And finally, who can dispute the lure of the giant veg tent. For months obsessed allotment holders have been feeding their vegetables secret concoctions in order to maximise their size. Competitors have been known to sabotage their rivals veg. Such is the fierceness of the race to the prize for the biggest marrow, the largest leek, the longest carrot or the most enormous onion. Organic Olympians indeed.
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| My poultry is the prettiest! |
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| Coq au cage |
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| A beautiful brassica |
